The Leader of the Hyuga
by Sanji Fanboy
Summary: It's been six years since the war and the Hyuga Clan is set to appoint a new leader. The obvious candidates are Hinata and Hanabi, being direct descendants of the current leader. But there is a 3rd, the genius of the Hyuga Clan, Neji Hyuga. However he's got one big problem, members of the branch family aren't allowed to lead the Clan.
1. A Surprise Decision

Naruto was sprawled out in his bed, muttering something or other in his sleep. He flipped his body over, subconsciously in search of a more comfortable position, and his arm fell flat on the other side of the bed. This woke him up and he lifted his head and peered around the room.

"Huh, I wonder where she is" he thought to himself as he rubbed the weariness out of his eyes.

Just then the scent of coffee permeated the room and eventually filled his lungs "Ah she's in the kitchen"

He squinted at the clock on the wall "Hmm it's 10:15. I gotta stop sleeping in so much. I wonder long she's been up."

Naruto rolled off of the bed and made his way to the bathroom. When he was through, he proceeded downstairs, giving his messy hair an impromptu comb with his fingers.

Hinata was seated at the dining table, holding a coffee mug in her hands and reading a book which lay flat on the table. Naruto approached her from behind, placed his arm gently around her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek.

"Oh good morning Naruto, you surprised me there" she said, and the surprise was evident as her cheeks were now flushed.

He rested his head on her shoulder "You're up early aren't ya?"

"More like you're up late again" she laughed, placing down her mug and caressing the back of his neck.

"Ugh I've got three missions today and I have to do all the paperwork by myself. I think we should call the police, Kakashi-sensei is trying to overwork me" Naruto pouted.

Hinata giggled "Um I don't think this is under police jurisdiction."

"Well we've got to do something. I'm pretty sure he's gonna kill me for waking up this late and not attending to my duties yet." Naruto replied.

Hinata consoled him "Look, Kakashi-sensei just wants to make sure that you're adequately prepared to become the Hokage. He knows just how much work it entails and he sees you as his successor, so he's doing all this to ensure that you can handle the workload when you take up the position"

Naruto sighed and walked into the adjoining kitchen in search of food "Yeah, I guess you're right Hinata"

"You know, you could just tell me whenever you need to head out early and I'll wake you up" she stated.

Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Hinata questioned.

Naruto was a bit nervous "Well, either it's Kakashi-sensei coming to scold me or it's the mailman… I'm hoping to God it's the mailman"

Naruto walked gingerly over to the door and opened it cautiously. Standing on the other side was neither option, instead it was a member of the Hyuga Clan, Ko Hyuga.

Naruto breathed a huge sigh of relief and laughed hysterically "Boy am I glad to see you Ko!"

"Err why?" Ko asked, a bit confused at Naruto's reaction.

"Oh, uh it's a long story" Naruto replied, realising he may have come off a bit weird. He then called out to his wife "Hey Hinata, Ko's here!"

Hinata joined him at the door "Ah Ko, good morning! What brings you here? We don't have any Hyuga business scheduled today right?"

"Good morning Lady Hinata" he responded, giving a little bow "You're right, we had nothing scheduled today but Lord Hiashi has requested everyone's presence for some reason"

"Something serious?" Hinata asked.

"I don't think it's anything too alarming. However Lord Hiashi has looked like something has been nagging him for the past few weeks. Maybe it has something to do with that" Ko responded.

"I see" Hinata said, she then turned to Naruto "You'll be alright by yourself yeah?"

"Yeah I'll just make a quick breakfast and then I'll be off" Naruto answered.

"Alright just don't burn down the house" Hinata joked.

"I'll try not to, no promises though" Naruto smirked.

Hinata went to her room and changed her clothes. She then gave Naruto a kiss and left the house alongside Ko. The trek to the Hyuga manor was a short one and before long they were nearing the entrance. In the distance she saw her cousin Neji accompanied by Tokuma Hyuga.

"Good morning Neji! Are you just coming in too?" Hinata called out.

Neji noticed her and increased his pace so that they met just in front of the entrance to the grounds.

"Good morning Hinata. Yes, I'm just arriving. Tokuma caught me in the middle of some early morning training and told me about this urgent meeting" he explained "Do you know what it's about?"

Hinata shook her head "Haven't got a clue"

"Well let's get inside. It seems almost everyone is present" Neji advised.

They entered the main building, where all the meetings were held, and sat in their respective places on either side. Hinata among the main house members and Neji among the branch house members. The building was just about full, Hiashi sat silently with closed eyes at the front waiting for everyone's arrival. After a few minutes everyone was accounted for and the meeting was finally able to begin.

Hiashi rose to his feet from his position in front, which was customary for the Clan leader, and began his address.

"Good day everyone, first let me apologize for calling you out on such short notice" Hiashi began. He walked from side to side, making eye contact every now and then, as he spoke.

He continued "However, something has been bothering me for the past couple months. It has been six years since the Fourth Shinobi World War. We the Hyuga played a great part in Konoha's efforts during the war. We suffered great losses but we persevered and came out stronger. I was your leader through all these times, during both the glory and the agony, and let me just say, it has been my greatest honour. My 55th birthday is on the horizon, and now, I think, it is time to hand over leadership to the new generation. Let those who have inherited the Will of Fire light the way for the future of the Hyuga Clan."

By now murmurs had broken out among the members of the Clan piercing through the once dominant silence. The previous Hyuga leader, Neji and Hinata's grandfather, called for silence and the peace was restored.

"I know that it may seem sudden but I've always trusted my instinct and my gut tells me that the time for change is now" Hiashi stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the entire Clan "Now, I'd like to announce the candidates. Please come to the front when your name is called."

"Hinata!"

She rose to her feet and joined her father in front, displaying an aura of self-assurance despite a feeling of anxiousness she could not shake.

"Hanabi!"

The young Hyuga walked briskly to the front and joined her sister.

Hiashi then took a long contemplative pause… "Neji!"

Neji stared at him incredulously "Lord Hiashi…?" he questioned.

"You're the 3rd and final candidate… come to the front" he replied after another brief pause.

Neji scrambled to his feet and slowly made his way to the front, astonished at what was taking place. The murmurs had once again erupted among the family. However, this time they were in an aggressive manner. A member of the branch family could never lead the Clan!

 _ **Hey! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I've got several more planned out in my head so it's just a matter of me getting the time to write 'em. My inspiration for writing this Fic stems from the fact that I am a big Neji fan and I always wanted to see him lead the Clan despite being from the branch family. Unfortunately that never came to fruition so I figured I would write a little story about it!**_


	2. Main vs Branch

Neji took up his position in front, next to Hanabi and Hinata, both of whom were just as shocked as everyone else in the room. He felt his heart pounding in his chest, despite this he stood rigidly and stared straight ahead expressionlessly. He could feel the piercing eyes of everyone in the Clan gazing at him and he knew for a fact that all the indistinct murmurs were about him, whether good or bad.

Hiashi, along with the other elders of the Clan, remained silent for the time being, they knew that these murmurs would not be quelled so easily. He expected a heated discussion to break out between the members of the main house and the branch house, and it was not long before this was realised.

One Hyuga from the main house stood up and raised his voice above the whispers "Lord Hiashi! I've been a loyal servant of the Clan for my entire life and I've obeyed your orders without question. But this!... This is preposterous!" he pointed an incriminating finger at Neji "This boy is from the branch house! He can't possibly be the leader!"

This drew the ire of a woman from the branch side "What are you saying? We may be divided by lineage but we are still Hyuga! Main and branch family aside, we're all human beings belonging to the same Clan and we deserve to be treated as equals!"

"You are treated as equals. It's just that the leader of the Hyuga has and always will be selected from the Main house. We harbour no feelings of resentment towards you all, this selection process is just a matter of tradition, that's all!" a main house member explained.

"The process is inherently flawed then! We can't be equals if there are things you can do but we can not" rebutted someone from the branch family. "We're not even allowed to vote in this selection process"

"That's because there's never been a nominee from the branch Clan. The voting is usually conducted by a select panel of main house members because the candidates are always from the main house"

Someone from the branch family stood up and pointed to Neji "Well look, he's one of us, so maybe we should get a say in this vote. Or maybe you just don't want him to be leader because he's got that damned mark on his forehead!"

Hinata had been glancing over at her cousin during this whole debacle. He must've been feeling miserable as he was the catalyst, through no fault of his own, for this infighting. She noticed that he stayed perfectly still but his eyes followed whoever was talking at the moment, as if he were dissecting their every word and even their thoughts.

At this point Hiashi chose to intervene as he realised that the discourse would not civilised and that it would soon devolve into a full blown argument.

"That's enough. I expected some opposition to my decision and I thought we could've had a civilised discussion about it. But this yelling back and forth is getting us absolutely nowhere" Hiashi remarked sharply, as if he was scolding a child.

He continued "Instead of treating this as a matter of 'main vs branch' why don't you take a look at the young man standing in front of you and judge him based on merit. Is he not the same man who learned our most powerful jutsu through mere observation and is regarded as a genius? Is he not the man who became a Jonin at the age of 15? Is he not the man who fought alongside you all during the war and was even willing to give his life for my daughter. Do you believe he was thinking of the divisions of main and branch when he was almost killed by that wood projectile? What I'm trying to say is that he deserves his spot up there just as much as my daughters"

Silence filled the room, the ones who had been arguing were now staring at the floor shamefully. Hiashi surveyed the room carefully, he resumed his pacing back and forth "Now, I would like to have the voting done during our next regularly scheduled meeting"

"That's just a couple days away. Are you sure it's okay to have it so soon?" A Hyuga elder questioned.

"Look, with these three what you see is what you get. Hinata and Neji have both experienced war, they've fought alongside you all and have even led certain factions of the Hyuga. They are prominent members of the Clan and by extension the entire Leaf Village. Hanabi, although she is only 18, has always had the pedigree to lead the Clan and in fact has accompanied me on many official outings, thus she is well aware of the bureaucracy involved in leading the Clan. I understand your concern but I assure you all, when you leave here today and reflect upon these three individuals, your thoughts will be inundated by their many accomplishments. I think then you will gain some insight into my train of thought." Hiashi responded eloquently.

"Are there any more questions?" the former Hyuga leader asked.

His commanding voice was followed by absolute silence, not out of fear but perhaps realization or as Hiashi put it 'insight'. Maybe now actually was the right time for a change in leadership. Sure Neji and Hinata were 25 and 24 years old respectively but they were experienced beyond their years and Hanabi does in fact have the pedigree to Clan, even at such a young age.

There was still uncertainty in the air about Neji's selection but no words were exchanged. Any question asked could easily be countered, conversely any counter could be vehemently challenged. It was a mental stalemate and everyone sat still, avoiding any sort of eye contact, pondering this curious situation.

"If there are no more questions, this meeting is officially concluded" Hiashi finally stated.

Slowly, everyone stood up and made their way to the exit. The cheerful atmosphere that was commonplace after a meeting was noticeably absent. Instead it was marked by silence and faces strained with deep contemplation. The subject matter of the meeting seemed so controversial that no one felt safe to discuss it out in the open and hence waited until they were in the safety of their own home.

Hiashi remained behind with the three young Hyugas "I'm sorry I kept you all in the dark about this. I know this whole thing must feel unnecessarily dramatic but I've been giving this some serious thought for quite some time now"

Hinata thanked her father for the nomination and gave him a hug "Why didn't you tell us dad?"

"Well to be honest, I was still deliberating with myself, even as late as last night, as to which course of action to take" Hiashi remarked.

Hanabi did the same as her sister "Well, do you think you made the right choice?"

Hiashi smiled "Looking at you three right now, I've got no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision."

He then turned to Neji, who hadn't moved at all "Everything all right?"

Neji snapped out of his daze and approached Hiashi, he gave him a formal bow "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you Lord Hiashi"

Hiashi smiled and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder "You all don't need to thank me, it was your hard work and dedication to the Clan that made this decision an easy one"

"We should all go out to celebrate" Hanabi suggested.

"Yeah I'm down for that" Hinata replied.

Neji paused for a while "I don't think I'll be able to make it. I've got to get home"

"Oh, okay that's alright, don't worry about it." Hanabi responded.

Neji apologized and said his goodbyes before promptly heading out the door.

"Is there something going on with Neji?" Hiashi enquired.

The younger of the two sisters shrugged "I don't know, maybe he's just excited to go home and tell Tenten that he's been nominated for leader of the Clan"

Hinata frowned as she stared at the door "Yeah… maybe."

 _ **Hey everyone part 2 is finally out... after like a million years. I do apologize for that, life came and hit me like a ton of bricks. Anyway, as for the story, I'm trying to re-immerse myself in this plot that I contrived like a year ago. It's a little tough but I'll try my best. Happy reading!**_


End file.
